Updates

To seek public input on this question a subgroup of the P&C Review Taskforce has framed various 'Considerations for Smallholders'. This document is available on the RSPO website, below the section dealing with the general consultation on the revised P&Cs. The ‘Considerations for Smallholders’ document, which is available in seven languages, is composed offour sections. The latter three sections highlight three critical choices in RSPO’s approach to simplification:

Fedepalma brings together palm oil farmers at all scales. This new guide caters for all, with particular attention to the needs of the smallholder. It provides simple summaries of information in an attractive design package covering financial services offered by FINAGRO, an institution linked to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. It also refers to services offered by cooperatives, NGOs, RSPO Smallholder Support Fund, and other unregulated supply chain partners and input suppliers who may offer informal financial services. The guide distinguishes different types of producers and sets out the terms and conditions applying to each. It also takes the farmer through important aspects to take into account when developing a project plan. Now workshops are being planned in order to take the guide to the palm oil regions and present it to farmers’ technical support staff, using practical examples to illustrate how they could go about supporting farms access credit in different circumstance, for different needs. This could help them to understand the various finance options and see for themselves which is most appropriate in different cases.

In 2015, Mexico was the seventh largest palm oil producing country in Latin America (SIAP, 2015) with 82,150 ha and 118,424 Mt of CPO produced. The Mexican government has plans for a further 50,000 ha of plantations by the end of 2018. Can the potential economic gains be reconciled with any environmental and social risks?